Jan. 8, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
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paper from his pocket endeavored to write, but 
fast losing strength he commended them to God 
and his brothers, and fell pierced by a Pueblo’s 
ball. Rushing in and tearing off the gray-haired 
scalp, the Indians bore it away in triumph.” 
Among the others killed were Stephen Lee, 
Narcisse Beaubien and others. 
When the news of Governor Bent’s death 
reached the plains it created great excitement, 
for Charles Bent was exceedingly popu'ar with 
white people and Indians alike. The Cheyennes 
proposed to send a war party to Taos and to 
kill all the Mexicans, but William Bent would 
not permit it. A party from Bent’s Fort set out 
for Taos, but on the road were met by messen¬ 
gers announcing that Colonel Price had marched 
into Taos at the head of 250 men and had had a 
fight with Mexicans and Indians in which 200 
massacred Governor Bent and other Americans, 
galloped off. Even then Turley felt assured that 
he would not be molested, but at the solicita¬ 
tions of his men agreed to close the gate of the 
yard around which were the buildings of a mill 
and distillery and make preparations for defense. 
"A few hours after, a large crowd of Mexicans 
and Pueblo Indians made their appearance, all 
armed with guns and bows and arrows, and ad¬ 
vanced with a white flag and summoned Turley 
to surrender his house and the Americans in it, 
guaranteeing that his own life should be saved, 
but that every other American in the valley of 
Taos had to be destroyed; that the Governor and 
all the Americans at Fernandez and the rancho 
had been killed and that not one was to be left 
alive in all New Mexico. 
‘‘To this summons Turley answered that he 
upon every exposed portion of the building 
where they saw the Americans preparing for 
defense. 
‘‘1 hey, on their part, were not idle. Not a 
man but was an old mountaineer, and each had 
his trusty rifle with good store of ammunition. 
Wherever one of the assailants exposed a hand’s 
breadth of his person there whistled a ball from 
an unerring barrel. The windows had been 
blockaded, loop-holes being left to fire through, 
and through these a lively fire was maintained. 
Already several of the enemy had bitten the dust 
and parties were constantly seen bearing off the 
wounded up the banks of the Canada. Darkness 
came on, and during the night a continual fire 
was kept up on the mill, while its defenders, re¬ 
serving their ammunition, kept their posts with 
stern and silent determination. The night was 
A 
CAMP OF THE CHEYENNE INDIANS. 
\ 
were killed, and had then bombarded the town 
and knocked down its walls. A neighboring 
town was razed and a large amount of property 
destroyed. 
The killing of the people at Turley’s Ranch 
on the Arroyo Hbndo was a costly triumph to 
the Pueblos. Here were shut up men who 
fought well for their lives. 
Ruxton tells of the battle in graphic language: 
‘The massacre of Turley and his people and 
the destruction of his mill were not consum¬ 
mated without considerable loss to the barbarous 
and cowardly assailants. There were in the 
house at the time of the attack eight white men 
including Americans, French-Canadians and one 
or two Englishmen with plenty of arms and 
ammunition. Turley had been warned of the 
intended insurrection, but had treated the re¬ 
port with indifference and neglect, until one 
morning a man named Otterbees, in the employ 
of Turley, and who had been dispatched to Santa 
Fe with several mule loads of whiskey a few 
days before, made his appearance at the gate on 
horseback, and hastily informing the inmates of 
* the mill that the New Mexicans had risen and 
would never surrender his house nor his men, 
and that, if they wanted it or them, ‘they must 
take them.’ 
“The enemy then drew off and after a short 
consultation commenced the attack. The first 
day they numbered about 500, but the crowd was 
hourly augmented by the arrival of parties of 
Indians from the more distant pueblos and of 
New Mexicans from Fernandez, La Canada and 
other places. 
“The building lay at the foot of a gradual 
slope in the sierra, which was covered with cedar 
bushes. In front ran the stream of the Arroyo 
Hondo, about twenty yards from one side of 
the square, and on the other side was broken 
ground, which rose abruptly and formed the 
bank of the ravine. In rear and behind the still- 
house was some garden ground inclosed by a 
small fence and into which a small wicket gate 
opened from the corral. 
As soon as the attack was determined upon, 
the assailants broke, and scattering, concealed 
themselves under the cover of the rocks and 
bushes that surrounded the house. 
From these they kept up an incessant fire 
spent in running balls, cutting patches and com¬ 
pleting the defenses of the building. In the 
morning the fight was renewed and it was found 
that the Mexicans had effected a lodgment in a 
part of the stables which were separated from 
the other portions of the building and between 
which was an open space of a few feet. The 
assailants during the night had sought to break 
down the wall and thus enter the main build¬ 
ing, but the strength of the adobes and logs of 
which it was composed resisted effectually all 
their attempts. 
“Those in the stable seemed anxious to regain 
the outside, for their position was unavailable 
as a means of annoyance to the besieged, and 
several had darted across the narrow space which 
divided it from the other part of the buildings 
and which slightly projected and behind which 
they were out of the line of fire. As soon, how¬ 
ever, as the attention of the defenders was called 
to this point, the first man who attempted to 
cross, and who happened to be a Pueblo chief-, 
was dropped on the instant and fell dead in the 
center of the intervening space. It appeared an 
object to recover the body, for an Indian im- 
